impossibility
Americannoun
-
the state or quality of being impossible
-
something that is impossible
Etymology
Origin of impossibility
1350–1400; Middle English impossibilite < Late Latin impossibilitās. See im- 2, possibility
Explanation
An impossibility is something that can never, ever happen. Eating ice cream without getting a stomach ache afterward is an impossibility for people who are lactose intolerant. You might start to suspect the impossibility of finding an affordable apartment in New York once you start looking for one, or fear the impossibility that you'll ever pass your French class if you struggle with conjugating verbs. When something's impossible, it can't happen or exist, and an impossibility is impossible. Both words come from the Latin impossibilis, "not possible," from the roots im-, "not," and possibilis, "that can be done."
Vocabulary lists containing impossibility
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"They want to see an inclusive school system. The problem is they are just so overstretched, they are being asked to do much more with less resource - it becomes an impossibility."
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
For the Kim family, whose parents are immigrants to the United States, han is exacerbated by the pressure to assimilate alongside the impossibility of ever doing so.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
With each manicured frame and deceptively poignant observation on the impossibility of living normally in modern life, Kramer concocts an original, wonderfully empathetic study of the desire to play spectator to a world on fire.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026
Faced with such challenges and the occasional impossibility of deploying a team on the ground, "we adapt, we use technology—artificial intelligence, drones, satellite imagery" to investigate and document human rights violations, he added.
From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026
During a car trip to nearby Aurora, they “talked over the impossibility of our union....The reasons we both enumerated very calmly—and they seemed weighty indeed.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
